Halloween in the city can be a lot of fun, especially if you have little ones. Of course, if you’re looking to escape the onset of zombies, witches, and ghosts for a weekend, you might consider taking a little trip instead. Not only are vacations a fun alternative to staying at home for the holidays, they can also help you feel more relaxed when you return. More than 52% of those who take a vacation say they feel more rested when they come back home — and because the stresses of the holiday season will be upon us before you know it,

New York City has a reputation for being among the most expensive cities in the world, but there’s a plethora of fun events and ideas within the Big Apple that take little to no money to experience. Take advantage of these free ways to enjoy fall in the city:

Autumn Crafts Festival at Lincoln Center
For two weekends, you can enjoy juried craft displays from throughout the U.S. at this free festival, along with continuous entertainment and craft demonstrations. Admission is free, and you can purchase food and art.

If you wanted to see images of old New York, you used to have to take a trip to the New York Public Library. Of the 3.5 trillion photographs that have been taken since the technology was first developed, the Library’s Milstein Division houses approximately 54,000 images of NYC that were captured between the 1870s and 1970s. Only a decade ago, you would have to make a request to view the photos on microfilm, and your only option was to view them right there in the library.

According to the holiday and event decorating experts at Christmas Decor, a holiday lighting and decorating company in North America, home and business owners who plan to showcase their buildings during the holiday season should start planning now.

Especially if homeowners are planning on using special effects to light up their homes this Christmas, the decorating company, among countless other retailers, are starting their holiday seasons early.

Countless shoppers have complained about the concept of “holiday creep,” in which retailers across the country push items for holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all seemingly before the sun sets on Labor Day.

It may still be September, but retail giant Walmart is already preparing for the Christmas holiday shopping season.

The company recently announced its top 25 picks for the year’s hottest toys, as chosen by a team of the world’s best experts: the kids themselves. Walmart invited hundreds of children ages 18 months to 12 years to test out new lines of play items and choose which ones they liked best.

Among the top picks were the doll-sized My Life As a Food Truck; the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mega Lair Playset; a Walmart exclusive Disney Princess Carriage;

U.S. scientists are worried that they’re falling behind in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) race.

The “Autonomy” study, a highly awaited research project, projects both optimistic and pessimistic views of the future in regards to AI.

According to The Fiscal Times, autonomy, machine learning, and AI could all lead to a revolutionary change in the military, home security, supply delivery, and espionage. The more glass half-empty view, though, is that AI technology is growing at such a rapid rate that the military can’t even keep up.

The study recommends that the U.S. take action and figure out how to address the advancing AI race.

When it comes to car buying, 52% of people don’t even know what make or model they want to buy before they arrive at a dealership. There is a pretty good chance that those dealerships, businesses and even parks, however, know much more about you.

New York City’s Brant Park, right next to the New York Public Library, is not only collecting valuable data and information from its visitors, but it’s also using that information to sell to advertisers.

According to AdvertisingAge, the Bryant Park Corporation is using visitor data in sales pitches to potential sponsors.

Lawyers are saying that the summer season may actually rival Christmas and New Years as the most popular time for divorce. In fact, many firms are predicting that more relationships than ever will hit the rocks this summer.

“Most families look forward to the summer holidays hoping to enjoy quality time together,” said family lawyer Claire O’Donnell. “But in reality when couples spend more time in each other’s company this can put them under pressure and can drive them to the brink of divorce. It’s a test of even the strongest relationships.”